ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Canadian Press
26February2011 2:00pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: BEIJING, China — China is taking the unprecedented step of dispatching a navy ship to protect its citizens being evacuated from conflict-ridden Libya — underscoring the navy's growing capabilities and Beijing's need to protect its citizens abroad.
The missile frigate Xuzhou was ordered to break off from anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and is sailing toward Libya, the Defence Ministry said in a notice reported by state media Friday. It's orders are to protect ships carrying Chinese expatriates to safety, the notice issued Thursday said. No details were given.
The ship's mission, approved by the Central Military Commission headed by President Hu Jintao, marks the first time China's entaglement-wary leaders have ever sent a navy ship to take part in the evacuation of civilians.
Traditionally, China has shied away from missions that could be interpreted as projecting military power abroad, although such qualms began to melt away in Dec. 2008, when it dispatched the first of seven naval squadrons to the Gulf of Aden to take part in anti-piracy patrols around lawless Somalia. (read full report)
